University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod, third from right, and Kansas State University President Richard Linton, second from right, prepare to testify Tuesday against a Kansas House bill that would retroactively eliminate the property right inherent in awarding tenure to faculty at Kansas public universities and colleges. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Academic leaders of the University of Kansas and Kansas State University said Tuesday legislation retroactively abolishing property rights inherent in tenure would run off distinguished educators, undercut faculty recruiting, destroy research programs, trigger an exodus of students and deliver a devastating blow to the state’s economy.
KU Chancellor Doug Girod and KSU President Richard Linton testified against a Kansas House tenure reform bill despite issuance of what the chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly characterized as a threat from Senate Republicans that state university budgets would be slashed if academic leaders spoke out against House Bill 2348 …